Going around the backwaters of Alleppey provides a fascinating sneak peek into the different facets of local Keralan life. One such example was when I saw a man dipping into the water repeatedly and emerging after a few moments. I thought he was taking a bath or probably swimming. Our guide pointed out that he was in fact collecting mussels! The waters here were around dozen feet deep, and that man was effortlessly managing to go right down to the water bed to search for them without the help of nets or any other gear. We could see that his boat was filled with mussels – his hard work was apparently paying off! These would be later sold in the local markets or directly to the many houseboats which abound the backwaters, to be cooked and devoured afresh.